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Criminal Practice
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June 02, 2025
Fla. Appeals Court Backs Police In Pot Smell Search Dispute
A Florida state appeals court has found that the smell of fresh cannabis can be enough to support probable cause for a car search in an area known for crime and drug trafficking, reversing a trial court order that suppressed evidence obtained in such a search.
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June 02, 2025
Man Sentenced To 50-To-Life As Teen Wins Bid For Review
A California appellate panel has revived a man's bid to be resentenced for a murder he committed as a teenager, ruling that his 50-years-to-life sentence is effectively the same as life without parole and qualifies for review under a state law aimed at juvenile offenders.
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May 30, 2025
AI Video Pushes Boundaries Of Victim Impact Statements
At the beginning of May, an Arizona state court judge permitted an artificial intelligence-generated victim impact statement of a deceased victim at a sentencing hearing, leaving some attorneys concerned about how admitting these types of videos might affect sentencing in other cases.
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May 30, 2025
Prosecutors Bet On Diddy's Ex-Workers To Build RICO Case
Witnesses who worked for Sean "Diddy" Combs and saw his alleged abuses are a crucial component of federal prosecutors' racketeering case against the music icon, legal experts told Law360, as testimony from another anguished former worker came into the high-profile trial on Friday.
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May 28, 2025
3rd Circ. Says Pot Smell Needs Link To Suspect For Search
A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday found that the smell of cannabis alone is not enough to establish probable cause to arrest or search a person unless it can be linked by the arresting officer to the suspect.
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May 28, 2025
4th Circ. Backs 5-Year Sentence In $9.3M Ponzi Scheme
The Fourth Circuit stood by a lower court's decision to imprison a North Carolina man for 63 months after he pled guilty to wire fraud and "use of manipulative and deceptive devices," concluding that the sentence is not unreasonable and was ordered after proper consideration of the public interest.
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May 22, 2025
6th Circ. Backs 3 Convictions In Toledo Drug Trafficking Ring
The Sixth Circuit stood by the convictions and sentences of three men Ohio jurors said committed what the panel called "a host of federal crimes related to trafficking in cocaine, cocaine base, and fentanyl," finding no errors in the lower court's proceedings that would warrant vacatur or reversal.
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May 21, 2025
'Only God Knows My Name': 11th Circ. OKs Doe's Conviction
The 11th Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the conviction of a man who refused to be identified by immigration officials, saying, "Only God knows my name," ruling the lower court correctly held the criminal statute he was charged under applied to him although it couldn't prove he lawfully entered the country.
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May 21, 2025
Pa. Dems Coast to Primary Wins In Judicial, DA Contests
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner fought off a challenge from fellow Democrat and former judge Patrick Dugan on Tuesday night, clearing the way for the incumbent's third term as the city's top prosecutor.
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May 20, 2025
Split 4th Circ. Finds Testimony Sufficed For Bad Advice Claim
A divided Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday ordered the government to offer a North Carolina man another shot at a plea deal he rejected, finding his defense attorney's bad advice caused him to pass over the bargain and get saddled with a longer sentence.
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May 16, 2025
Oakland Cops Denied Immunity In Deadly High-Speed Chase
The Ninth Circuit ruled Friday that two Oakland police officers violated the rights of innocent bystanders and are not entitled to qualified immunity following a high-speed pursuit that left one person dead and several others injured.
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May 15, 2025
8th Circ. Finds No Error In Fentanyl Dealing Conviction
The Eighth Circuit has refused to grant a new trial to a North Dakota man sentenced to over 15 years in prison for selling fentanyl with his father, finding a lower court was justified in keeping his father from testifying at trial.
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May 15, 2025
Justices Say Context Matters When Evaluating Use Of Force
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for a civil rights lawsuit against a Houston-area traffic officer who shot and killed a fleeing man, ruling that courts must weigh the full sequence of events — not just the instant a threat arises — when deciding if police used excessive force.
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May 14, 2025
Florida Appeals Court Says Pastor's Testimony Is Privileged
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday reversed convictions for a man found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor after finding that his pastor's testimony should not have been allowed at trial because it was protected by the clergy communications privilege.
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May 14, 2025
Texas Panel Says Ex-Cop's Phone Fair Game In Bribe Case
The highest criminal court of appeals in Texas ruled Wednesday that an ex-San Antonio police officer cannot suppress evidence found on a cell phone that prosecutors claim contains evidence of child pornography and that the officer had been accepting bribes.
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May 12, 2025
Fla. Panel Says Evidence In DUI Case Was Legally Obtained
A Florida federal judge wrongly applied the probable cause standard to suppress evidence from a DUI investigation of a woman initially pulled over for a traffic stop for driving in two lanes simultaneously, an appellate court said Friday, ruling the police officer's reasonable suspicion was enough to justify the traffic stop.
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May 12, 2025
Fla. Court Orders Hearing On Ineffective Counsel Claims
A Florida state appeals court has ruled that a lower court must hold a hearing to assess evidence put forward by a man who claims ineffective counsel led him to be found guilty of a second-degree firearm offense and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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May 12, 2025
Deny 'ComEd Four' A 'Third Bite' At Posttrial Apple, Feds Urge
Prosecutors are asking an Illinois federal judge to disregard a former Commonwealth Edison CEO and three lobbyists' bid to use a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to try again to unwind their bribery convictions, arguing their motion is untimely and ignores the inapplicability of the high court's ruling, the jury instructions and "overwhelming evidence" proving their guilt.
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May 12, 2025
Diddy Abuse Case About 'Private' Sex Life, Atty Tells Jury
Sean "Diddy" Combs is a "complicated man" whose allegedly violent sexual relationships involved "voluntary adult choices," a lawyer for the hip-hop icon told a Manhattan federal jury Monday at the start of a trial on sex-trafficking charges that could put him in prison for life.
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May 08, 2025
Feds Urge High Court Not To Take Jury-Right Case
The government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the case of a social media influencer who was denied a jury trial for a misdemeanor, arguing precedent and tradition show that "crimes" meriting a jury are distinct from petty offenses.
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April 21, 2025
Justices Sympathetic To Inmate Who 'Messed Up' Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday seemed dubious of a Fourth Circuit ruling refusing an inmate's appeal on procedural timing grounds, as the justices weighed a case that will likely disproportionately affect pro se litigants.
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March 20, 2025
NH Justice Can't Use Immunity To Escape Criminal Charges
New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, indicted last year on charges she interfered with the state attorney general's investigation of her husband, has lost her second bid to dismiss the case, with a state judge rejecting her judicial immunity argument.
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March 06, 2025
Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action
Believe it or not, there's still important litigation happening that doesn't involve President Donald Trump, and the proof exists in this month's circuit court calendars. During the remaining weeks of March, arguments will explore numerous high-profile topics, including a law firm's severe punishment for alleged misconduct in 9/11 litigation and a judicial rebuke of Trader Joe's for "an attempt to weaponize the legal system."
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March 04, 2025
AG Asks Mich. High Court To Preserve Anti-Terrorism Law
Michigan's attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to put on hold a ruling striking down the state's anti-terrorist threat law as unconstitutional, saying the ruling threatens to unravel ongoing prosecutions and hamper future responses to threats of violence.
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March 03, 2025
Justices To Weigh Double-Jeopardy Claim In Robbery Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to wade into a seven-circuit split over whether the double jeopardy clause allows for separate sentences on different charges stemming from the same robbery — an issue that can lead to significantly longer prison terms.